PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) at #MujeresAchí trial
PBI-Guatemala has posted:
“Today #PBI accompanies the Association for Justice and Reconciliation -AJR- at the beginning of the second trial of the #AchíWomen case against three former patrol members accused of sexual violence and crimes against the duties of humanity during the Internal Armed Conflict.
A ceremony was held in the Human Rights Plaza in which representatives of the Achí women read a statement demanding justice and respect for human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples. They have called on the media and civil society to follow the process closely. AJR and other human rights organizations were present to support the Achi women in this judicial process.”
Background
On January 29, LaHora.gt reported: “High Risk Court B began the trial against three former members of the Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC) accused of crimes of duty against humanity and rape allegedly committed against women from the Achí community of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, during the Internal Armed Conflict between 1981 and 1982. …In this case, Pedro Sánchez Cortez, Simeón Enríquez Gómez and Feliz Tum Ramírez are being prosecuted, whom the Public Ministry (MP) seeks to convict.”
CRN Noticias has also explained: “high-risk court in Guatemala on Tuesday began the trial of three former members of a paramilitary force. The defendants face charges of sexual violence against more than 30 Mayan women of the Achí people during the 1980s, in the context of the internal armed conflict. The Public Prosecutor’s Office (Prosecutor’s Office) presented evidence to the High Risk Court B indicating that the defendants sexually abused at least five women. These women were detained for more than 25 days in a military barracks in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz.”
FGER further notes: “The ‘Mujeres Achi’ case is emblematic of sexual violence during the internal armed conflict, evidencing the use of rape as a weapon of war by the Army and paramilitary groups to attack women and subjugate indigenous communities. According to the Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH), in 1999 1,465 cases of rape were documented during the conflict, affecting 89% Mayan women and 35% girls. …The events on trial occurred between 1981 and 1985, during which the Achi women were subjected to extreme sexual violence by the Army, military commissioners and civilian patrolmen, both in their homes and in military installations. Violations in these contexts were particularly degrading, as many victims were abused while in detention, and at times, in front of family members, which intensified their suffering.”
The next court dates are on January 30, February 11 and 12, February 17 and 18.
Accompaniment
The Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) is a coalition of survivors from 22 communities in five regions of the country that suffered as a result of the scorched earth policy between 1978 and 1985. PBI-Guatemala began accompanying the AJR Board of Directors in April 2024.
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